the sun will rise tomorrow
by Little Blue Owl
Summary: Things still keep them awake, even after it's all over. Having company helps - cross-posted on AO3


AN: This is a valiant attempt at rokushi. Roxas and Xion have one of my absolute favorite dynamics in the series, but I'm rubbish at writing Roxas. I'm doing my best to practice, though, and I hope you enjoy! Comments very much appreciated, as always!

She was sitting at the windowsill when he found her, stumbling in sleepily. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, knees probably pulled up in a ball beneath her. Roxas approached, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "Xion?"

She turned around at the sound of her name, eyes crinkling at the corners. He always liked that. "Hi," she said quietly, patting the spot next to her on the sill.

"What are you doing?" he asked, pulling one pajama-ed leg up and then the other. She extended her arm to wrap half the blanket around him. It felt warm and soft on his skin, but she felt warmer next to him.

"I couldn't sleep." Xion said, but looked tired all the same, with dark lines under her eyes and mussed hair. Roxas didn't press it, though. Some things came back to haunt them no matter how many times they talked through it, or how many assurances they got that nightmare was over. Maybe it had been one of those nights.

"Have you been awake this whole time?" he asked, eyes adjusting to the dark. There was nothing else really out here, except a glass of water next to her. No lights were on, no food was out.

"It got so late I figured I'd stay up for the sunrise." She closed her eyes for a moment, seeming to revel at just the thought of it. "Dawn is always so beautiful, but it's hard to wake up early enough in time to see it, usually."

Roxas failed to stifle a big yawn, and she giggled. "Especially if you're you," she says, and he laughs with her.

"I do like them," he said, "but I think sunsets are nicer. And you don't have to be awake at six in the morning to see them."

"Hmm," Xion hummed, shifting to sit a little closer to him, careful not to knock over the glass next to her. She looked small then, drowning in an oversized t-shirt and blue polka dot pants, huddled under the massive blanket. "You know, I always thought they would look the same."

"What would?"

"When the sun sets and rises. I thought it would look the same. I'd never really seen one before. It was always dark outside the castle, and by the time missions would start, I guess the sun had already risen in most places." She looked down at the ground beneath the window, soft sand with sea grass poking up in patches.

"Not that we ever really had time to enjoy it, anyway. I barely remember anything even though we went to so many worlds."

"Exactly," she said, her lips scrunching up to one side. "I mean, besides the time I spent in Twilight Town, I didn't really get to see anything. And even that was just a mission that went awry."

"I'm still sorry about all that," Roxas said, not that it could help. "You were stuck there all alone with that... lizard Heartless for so long."

Xion smiled wryly. "It wasn't your fault. Besides, you and Axel saved me! And you know, Kairi showed me a regular one the other day. A chameleon. They're actually kind of cute! Very slow, and much less evil than the one back there." She giggled.

"Really?" Roxas asked. There was still so much here he'd never seen. "You'll have to show me sometime."

"Of course!" she said, then shook her head, remembering herself. "Anyway, because we never got to see it, I figured the sun looked the same going up as it did going down. But it doesn't."

"You think so?" he asked, turning to her. She nodded.

"The sun looks more pink in the morning, and there's the blue... a little like your eyes, I think." She studied him for a moment. "But darker."

"You think so? I'd never really thought about it," Roxas said, shivering a little. Xion scooted closer, pulling the blanket further around both of them.

"It's beautiful, even if I still like twilight better," she said, a little half-smile on her face. He returned the expression.

"Me too."

They sat at the window for a while like that, quietly watching the stars twinkle above and slowly, slowly start to lighten. They sparkled in the water, too, Roxas thought, like a second sky. He turned to her to point it out, but found Xion's eyes closed, breathing slow as she leant on his shoulder. His eyes softened, and he put out a hand to shake her gently.

"Huh?" She blinked frantically, head whipping up to look at him, and Roxas put one hand gently on hers. She stopped moving instantly, breathing slowed down.

"You should go to sleep," he said, slowly getting up off of the windowsill. "The sun'll rise tomorrow too, you know. Maybe we can watch it then, together."

She giggled sleepily, and nodded a little, taking the offered to her and rising to her feet. Roxas relinquishes his part of the blanket, letting her have the whole thing. He kept her hand in his own and together they walked to the room she was staying in while they visited the island. His hand felt cold when she extracted hers to reach for the knob.

Xion turned around to face him, slowly, still looking small under the huge blanket. "Thanks, Roxas. For trying to stay up with me."

And Roxas just sighed, his lips tugged as far up as he could muster at four in the morning. "You're welcome," he said, and leaned forward to press a gentle kiss in her hair. She gave him a soft, tired smile in return, and he felt lighter just seeing her look so much happier. "Sleep well."

And even when he's laying in his own bed, long after Xion has closed the door and fallen asleep in her own room, his hand feels a little warm where hers touched it. He glances out the window to see the moon making its slow descent in the sky, and gradually, he falls asleep.


End file.
